Before the launch of Samsung’s Galaxy Watch4, Mobvoi’s TicWatches were truly the only wearables worth recommending for Android users. Equipped with a Snapdragon Wear 4100, the TicWatch Pro 3 and E3 are two of the only devices you can find with that specific processor, even more than a year out from the former’s launch. At least, that’s the chip both watches were initially marketed with, but if you try to buy one today, you might be surprised to see an unannounced performance upgrade listed in the specs sheet.
According to listings on Mobvoi’s official website and Amazon, both of the company’s current watches are powered by a Snapdragon Wear 4100+ — not the original 4100 chip as originally marketed (via 9to5Google). This change is rather curious, considering there’s been no announcement about a potential upgrade for either watch. While the Pro 3 is well over a year old now, the TicWatch E3 only went up for sale in June. It’d be an odd move to upgrade the processor of a watch that’s just three months old.
Left: Amazon’s TicWatch E3 listing. Right: Mobvoi’s store page for the TicWatch Pro 3.
In a strange twist to this story, the folks at NotebookCheck picked up a brand-new E3 — one marketed as having a Wear 4100+ chipset — to see for themselves if it did indeed receive a silent upgrade. Unlike the store listings, the box notes a “Snapdragon Wear 4100,” not the upgraded version planned to debut with Fossil’s Gen 6 watches early next week. Likewise, running AIDA64 on both new and old E3 models returned identical chipsets, though NotebookCheck notes this could be a software bug because of how similar Qualcomm’s processors are.
Nevertheless, it seems like something’s up with TicWatch’s 4100+ claims. Several Redditors have received emails from Mobvoi’s support team, informing that “4100+” actually refers to a “4100+ Dual System Platform,” a customized version of the basic 4100 the company designed by itself. Considering this information comes from a support team, you should take it with a grain of salt. However, the phrasing lines up with what’s displayed in store listings, so if that’s the real reason behind the rebranding in its marketing, it’s undoubtedly a shady move on its part.
We’ve attempted to reach out to Mobvoi for comment but have yet to hear back.
What the heck is going on with the chip powering the latest TicWatch?
Source: Poinoy Wattpad
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